Vibratory feeder



June 6, 1939.

E. V. FRANCIS VIBRATORY F EDER Filed July 28, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 [NVENTORI EARLE FRANCIS,

ATT'Y June 6, 1939. E. v. FRANCIS 2,161,342

VIBRATORY FEEDER Filed July 28, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 [NVENTORJ v4. wi h-M,

ATT'X EARLE V FRANCIS,

Patented June 6, 1939 UNITED sures PATENT OFFICE The Traylor Vibrator Company, a corporation Colorado Application Jilly 28, 1938, Serial No. 221,868

ISCIninll.

This invention relates to a vibratory electromagnetic feeder and the principal object of the invention is to provide an improved feeder of this type with mechanism to insure a proper supply of material, such as granular material, at all times by imparting knocking vibrations to a hopper-derived from the main frame of the feeder in which the frequency of vibration of the line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevational view-of the device ofjlg. i;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view of the feeder;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the feeder;

131g. 6 is a rear elevational view of the feeder; an

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the feeder base.

In order to insure that a feeder will feed granular material properly at all times it has been found essential to improve vibration to the feed hopper 'or otherwise prevent arching or packing of material within the hopper. It has also been found that in many instances this arching or packing will best be prevented by knocking the hopper or causing it to vibrate at a frequency which is not the same as, and generally less than, the frequency ofvibratiori of the deck and main frame of the feeder. The apparatus comprising my invention takes advantage of the inherent vibration in the main frame of the feeder and employs this otherwise useless energy to vibrate the hopper by a knocking action. The hopper then, under the influence of this knocking action, can vibrate at its own natural period of vibration which may be entirely different from the period of vibration of the main frame and gen-- erally will be considerably lower.

Referring particularly to the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the complete feeder is formed by a triangular base or stand II, which may be in the form of a hollow casting, 'upon which is mounted an electro-magnetic feeder ll comprising a motor including a main frame or casting i2 adapted to receivea plurality of spring leaves or vibrator bars ll, the ends of which are 29 and the deck v vibrate entirely independently of each other.

clamped rigidly in said casting I! by set screws l4 and spaced apart by spacers Ii.

To the centers of the vibrator bars II there is clamped an armature shaft it to which is connected an armature ll preferably made of laminated steel. The casting I! also carries a field structure II which includes a U-shaped core I! of laminated steel and a pair of energizing coils 2|. Adjusting screws 2|, 2| are provided to adjust the position of the field structure it with respect to the armature ll to insure that there will be no actual contact between them when said coils 2. are energized either by alternating or mixed current in a manner described in full detail in Patent No. 2,094,785 for a vibratory conveyor issued to James A. Flint on October 5, i937.

The casting or main frame I2 is supported from the base. or stand Ill by a plurality of rubber cushions 22 which rest on corner ledges l0 thereof and are held against lateral movement thereby and which allow free vibration of said main frame I! without imparting any vibration to said stand II. To supplement the support of the vibratory feeder, the stand l0 carries a forwardly extending bracket 23 which, at its forward end, carries a rubber cushion 24 carried on adjustable bolt 25. The cushion 24 is particularly useful in supporting the armature shaft I6 and the elements carried thereby to prevent a twisting strain being placed upon the vibrator bars l3. Stand III is also provided with lifting handles H0.

Mounted upon and rigidly attached to the armature shaft IC is a trough or deck 26 which is rigidly attached to said-armature shaft It by spaced bracket means 21, 21.. As illustrated in the drawings the deck 26 is provided with a cover plate Ill, but if desired an open type deck may be employed and formed by omitting said cover plate 28.

Positioned above the deck 26 and mounted entirely independently thereof and independently of the main frame l2- so that the vibrations of neither are transmitted directly thereto, is a feed hopper "the bottom of which extends into said trough or deck 26 and justable gate' a. A flexible connection 3| made of canvas or rubber is provided to form a completely enclosing connection between the hopper 26 while permitting them to The hopper 28 is supported by a pair of spaced uprights 32 which are supported from a superstructure or foundation by brackets 33. The uprights 32, while being generally rigid, will not be is provided with an adentirely so and will permit vibration of the hopper 29 and, in fact, will make, with said hopper 29, a vibratory system which, preferably, has a relatively low natural period of vibration and one which is considerably below the operating frequency of the electro-magnetic vibratory motor formed by the field structure l8, armature l1 and vibrating bars I3.

While in the design of apparatus of this type the parts are so proportioned that the main frame l2 will have a relatively small amount of vibration as compared to the vibration of the armature shaft l6 and the deck 26, it is inherent that said main frame l2 will have some vibration. It is, of course, evident that the frequency of this vibration is the same as the frequency of vibration of the deck 26. I propose to utilize the vibration in the main frame l2 to vibrate the hopper 29 to prevent arching or packing of material therein, thereby to insure a proper feeding of material to the pan 26 at all times. It has been found, however, that if a direct connection is made between the hopper 29 and the main frame l2 the frequency of vibration of the hopper may not be the most eflicient for many materials because it will, of necessity, be the same as that of the frequency of vibration of the main frame l2 which, it may be stated, will either be equal to or twice the frequency of the source of alternating current, depending upon whether straight alternating current or mixed current is employed, as set forth in the above mentioned patent to James A. Flint.

Furthermore, it has been found that for many materials a knocking action on the hopper 29 is preferred to a positive vibratory action. This apparently is true because the hopper and the uprights 32 which support it provide a system having a natural period of vibration which is relatively low and one in which a higher amplitude of vibration will tend to.be produced than is present in the main frame I2. I therefore provide a knocker in the form of a bracket 34 which is rigidly attached to the main frame I2 and which is provided with an adjustable screw 35 providing a knocker head. This screw or knocker head 35 is adapted to knock an anvil 36 formed rigidly with the hopper 29.

In the operation of the device comprising my invention alternating or mixed current will be supplied to the motor of the feeder II and will cause vibration of the deck 26 to convey any material therealong and will also inherently produce some vibration thereof of lesser amplitude in the main frame l2.

Due to the fact that the plane of the bars l3 makes an acute angle with the plane of the bottom of the deck 26 a positive conveying action willbe imparted to any granular material carried by said deck 26 and this conveying section will convey material from the left to the right, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings.

While the deck 26 is shown sloping downwardly this structure is not essential because the feeder will convey granular material even though the deck 26 has its bottom substantially horizontal or even sloping. upwardly toward the discharge end provided the upward slope is not too great. It is, of course, obvious, however, that the capac-' ity of the feeder is increased if sloped downwardly, as illustrated in the drawings.

Material in the hopper 29 will flow out of the bottom thereof under the general control of the gate 30 and be fed and discharged by said deck 26. The vibrations inherently present in the main frame l2 will cause the knocker head 35 to pound upon the anvil 36 and to jar and vibrate said hopper 29 to prevent arching and packing of material therein. As was above set forth, this hammer action will produce a larger amplitude of vibration in the hopper 29 than the amplitude of vibration of the main frame l2 due to the entirely independent supporting of said hopper 29 and the fact that said hopper 29 and the uprights 32 provide a vibratory system having a relatively low natural period of vibration at which said hopper 29 will vibrate when once set into vibratory motion by non-positive exciting means. Obviously those skilled in the art may make various changes in the details and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereto appended, and I therefore wish not to be restricted to the precise construction herein disclosed.

Having thus described and shown an embodiment of my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with I a mainframe, of a deck, means for supporting said deck for vibration, electro-magnetic motor means for vibrating said deck and main frame, a hopper positioned to deliver material to said deck by which it is fed when vibrated, means for supporting said hopper independently of both said deck and main frame, and a knocker attached to said main frame to vibrate therewith and positioned to knock said hopper, whereby the vibrations in said main frame may be employed to vibrate said hopper at a frequency which need not be the same as that of the vibrations of said main frame.

2. ma vibratory feeder, the combination with a main frame, of a deck, means for vibrating said deck and main frame, a hopper positioned to feed material to said deck, and a knocker carried by said main frame and adapted to impart vibration to said hopper as derived from said main frame.

3. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a conveyor deck, a support, spring means mounting said deck for vibratory movement relative to said support, means connected to said support and deck to vibrate them, a hopper positioned to feed material to said deck, and knocker means attached to said support and having animpositive knocking contact with said hopper to vibrate it by energy derived from said support.

4. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a main frame, of a deck, means for vibrating said deck and main frame, a hopper positioned to feed material to said deck, a knocker carriedby said main frame and adapted to impart vibration to said hopper as derived from said main frame, and means supporting said hopper which provides therewith a system having a relatively low natural period of vibration compared to the frequency of vibration of said deck.

5. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a conveyor deck, a support, spring means mounting said deck for vibratory movement relative to said support, means connected to said support and deck to vibrate them, a hopper positioned to feed material to said deck, knocker means attached to said support and having an impositive knocking contact with said hopper to vibrate it by energy derived from said support, and means supporting said hopper which provides therewith a system having a relatively low natural period of vibration compared to the frequency of vibration of said deck.

8. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a main frame, of a deck, means for supporting said deckfor vibration, electro-magnetic motor means for vibrating said deck and main frame, a hopperpositioned to deliver material to said deck by which it is fed when vibrated, means for supporting said hopper independently of both said deck and main frame, a knocker attached to said mainframe to vibrate therewith and positioned to knock said hopper, whereby the vibrations in said main frame maybe employed to vibrate said hopper at a frequency which need not be the same as that of the vibrations of said main frame, and said means supporting said hopper providing therewith a system having a relatively low nat- .ural period of vibration compared to the frequency of vibration of said deck.

'1. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a base frame, of a main frame mounted thereon for vibratory movement relatively thereto, a conveyor mounted on said main frame for vibratory movement relatively thereto, means for vibratin said conveyor to operate the same while vibrating said main frame relatively to said base, a hopper mounted for vibration independently of the vibration of the conveyor but in position to feed material thereto, and knocking means mounted on said main frame in association with said hopper to effect vibrations of the latter to facilitate the feeding of the material to the conveyor.

ll. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a main frame, of means for resiliently supporting said main frame for vibration. a vibratory conveyor, means for operating said conveyor by vibrating the same relatively to said main frame whilevihratingthemainframeonits resilient supporting means, additional resilient means for assisting in supporting the weight of the conveyor, a hopper in position to deliver material to said conveyor, and knocking means mounted on saidmainframein associationwithsaidhopper tocamevlbrationofthemainframetoimparta knocking action on said hopper to facilitate deliveryofmaterialfromthelattertosaidcon 9. The combination with a vibratory conveyor \mitmdabaseframamsansmolmtingsaidvibratoryconveyorlmitonsaidbaseframeforvibrationasawholerelativelytheretaahowerfor 'andduringfeedingofthematerialtheretofrun feeding material to said vibratory conveyor. mechanism for mounting saidhopper for. vibrationtlyofthevibrationofsaidvibratoryconveyonandknockingmechanismmumtedonsaidvibratoryconveyorunitin'association withsaidhoppertoeffectknoekingofthelatter at intervals to effect the aforesaid vibraticn thereofduringoperationofthevibratoryunit saidhopper.

immavihratoryfeedenthecombinationwifli avfln'atoflconveyorunihofahoppeaupright standardsonoppositesidesofsaidconveyorunlt for supporting said hopper in position to deliver material to said vibratory conveyor unit, and knocking mechanism mounted on said vibratory conveyor unit in association with said hopper to tap the latter at intervals during operation of said vibratory conveyor unit and during the feeding of material thereto from said hopper.

11. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a vibratory feeder comprising a conveyor trough, of a hopper, mechanism mounting said hopper for vibration independently of the vibration of said conveyor trough, a flexible enclosure connecting said hopper to said'conveyor trough to prevent spilling of material during the flolw mounted on a part of said vibratory conveyor' unltto vibrate with such part, a tapper, an abutment block mounted on one side of said hopper, and means for mounting said tapper on said bracket for adjustment relative thereto and in position to engage at intervals said abutment block to effect vibration of said hopper during operation of saidvibratory conveyor unit and the feeding of material thereto from said hopper.

18. In a vibratory feeder, the combination with a base frame, of a main frame mounted thereon for vibration relatively thereto in an upwardly inclined position, a supplemental frame, a conveyor deck mounted on said supplemental frame in inclined position to slant downwardly, from the upper end of said main frame to the discharge end of said deck, vibrating resilient bars anchoredattheirendstosaidmainframeto vibrate at their middle in the direction of upward slant of said main frame, mechanism connecting the rear end of said supplemental frame ,to the middle portion of said vibrating bars, a

magneticarmaturesecuredtotherearendof said supplemental frame adjacent the middle portion of said vibrating bars, an electro-magnet on said main frame in position to act on said armature to effect vibration of said bars and said supplemental frame, a hopper mounted for vibration independently of the deck but in position to deliver material thereto, and knocking mechanism mounted on said main frame to partake of the vibrations thereof relatively to said base frame and in position to tap at intervals said hopper during the action of said electro-magnet on said armature.

EAR-LEV. FRANCIS.

vibration of said 

